Stropping wheel experiment

[Daniel Rode]

I had a new set of chisels and a new plane iron that need sharpening. I flattened the backs, touched up the primary bevel and then added a micro bevel. I worked this, using sandpaper on glass, up to 1000 grit. I've never stropped before but I do have some green chromium oxide that I used a while back to polish aluminium parts. I have a double layer of buffing wheels loaded with some of the compound, so I mounted them in the drill press and and applied the top of a chisel back to it. It was only a cosmetic change, but it really gleamed after taking out the 1000 grit haze. FWIW, I would normally finish with a 4000 grit stone as that's the finest I have.

Working very carefully, I brought the polished edge all the way down to the cutting edge. That went well, so I tried the same on the front edge. I realize that the corner would be very slightly rounded going from the flat to the primary bevel and the primary to micro bevel. However, those aren't working edges, so no down-side AFAIK. When I finished, it was very smooth with a mirror like shine front and back. But was is sharp(er) or just dull and pretty?

It was not only still sharp, but noticeably sharper than before. This was a newly sharpened, unused chisel. My concern was that this process would make the faces highly polished and shiny but would dull the cutting edge. It did not. The chisels are sharper than I've ever got them before. They easily slice copier paper, shave my arm and pare pine end grain. I went ahead and did the whole set.

I don't think this will be my normal mode of operation, though. For me, it kinda proves that stropping is worth the effort and I'm going to get some leather and make a proper strop. I'm also considering dropping the scary sharp in favor of diamond plates. The sand paper seems to work well enough, but it's a PITA to work with. I'm going to try one last experiment with the highest quality 3M PSA papers. However, despite the higher up-front cost, I think I'll go with a set of diamond plates for the convenience and longevity.

Coarse, medium, fine, strop. Then strop often to maintain the keen edge. That's the plan, anyway. My next experiment will be to start freehand sharpening with a cheap set of chisels (versus the veritas jig).

I'd appreciate any comments or feedback on my little experiment.

[george wilson]

I NEVER ,EVER strop on a wheel. It just gives you a rounded off edge that is not as sharp as hand stropping. And,I keep hand stropping to a minimum,too,for the same reason.

[Jim Koepke]

+1 on what George said.

Stropping can enhance an edge. Too much stropping can round it over. Been there, done that, learned my lesson and most of the time know when to stop enhancing and start getting back to work.

For me, 5 to 10 strokes is where the enhancing ends and the degradation begins.

A wheel can do some nice buffing of a blade. That is one of the complaints posted here occasionally about some new chisels have been buffed to heck and back making for rounded backs.

jtk

[george wilson]

Hirsch and 3 Cherries are buffed to death,and have rounded edges. They look chrome plated!! Plus,they have an obnoxious lacquer finish on their blades,which needs to be removed,or it inevitably looks very bad then the places it gets worn away start turning dark. I'm not saying anything about the quality of their steel,which got high marks in one Fine Woodworking chisel test. On another test a year or 2 later,results were very different,so who knows.

I like my Pfiel chisels,but what UGLY handles. At least the grinding is workman like.

They keep a Tormek at the Woodcraft store in Richmond. Twice(I must be a slow learner!!!) I suckered in and tried my razor sharp pocket knife on their wheel buff. Both times my knife got relieved of its sharp edge. I use my Tormek (a generous gift!) for GRINDING ONLY. It is quite good for that.

[David Weaver]

soft and slow speed and loaded together is a bad combination for a strop.

A very hard leather loaded wheel can keep tools maintained if it's used with care, but it's easy to try to chase the last little bit of edge and steepen the bevel. I think the value for such a thing would be greater with carving tools than straight edge tools, but certainly you could use one with straight edged tools if you wanted to. Most people do what george says, though, and lose sight of geometry being important.

The other problem with it is that sooner or later you'll be slow headed and get a catch on leather. I would set up everything in the shop so that you lay the tool on it in the same orientation. Speaking from experience (I launched a sharp iron off of a rotary lap once. It would've been bad news if it wouldn't have bounced straight down into the floor.

[Mel Fulks]

George,since you generally reccommend fast grinders,I'm wondering for what type (and material) of grinding the Tormek is preferred . I've seen them used in commercial shops for grinding chisels and such and was surprised the owners tolerated their use on his time.

[george wilson]

I recommend fast 6" bench grinders as opposed to slow 6" bench grinders. You just have to develop the skill to quench more often. Put water on the tool. Quench at once when it sizzles. With some skill,the fast grinder will get the job done more quickly.

[Jim Matthews]

Won't stropping the bevel with a wheel draw out steel past the back edge?

I thought the idea with stropping was to keep a constant attack angle, so that the wire edge formed polishing
was fractured off - leaving the smallest intersection possible.

I'm still struggling with this by hand, to keep from dubbing over the edge.
Were I to use a wheel, I think everything would be round in a hurry.

Still - if the OP got things sharp...

[Trevor Remster]

I am going to try one of those MDF wheels charged with compound one of these days along with a tool rest. Do you think this will have a better result?

[David Weaver]

loaded hard leather is really hard. whether or not MDF will work will depend on your discipline in not giving up on an edge that seems "almost there" by steepening the bevel just a little.

[george wilson]

There are different perceptions of sharp. I'd have to handle the iron to know what the edge is like.

[Joey Naeger]

I made an MDF wheel with leather around the perimeter for my hand cranked grinder. I use it frequently with my carving tools, and it produces an edge that cuts more easily than I can achieve on stones. You can hear a change in pitch once the edge is contacting the wheel, and with care you can minimize rounding. I can strop a couple times before going back to the stones. I don't really use it for chisels and planes however.

[Curt Putnam]

I'm a fan of power stropping but I use either a 1" x 42" belt sander or a Worksharp 3000 leather on glass wheel. So far, I can manage to knives quite well on the belt sander (if I'm having a good day) and can do a reasonable job on chisels and irons when chucked into my MKII honing guide. I use the table attachment for the Worksharp.

In the end, I get the best edges off my 1K, 6K, 13K set of stones that I got from Stu. The stones are flatter and working the slurry will adjust polish if it matters to you.

[Daniel Rode]

Thanks for all the feedback! It's good to get some tips on the dangers of too much stropping. I hadn't considered that it could begin to round over edges or even the cutting edge.

As I said in my original post, I'm going to make a normal strop. I don't plan to use a wheel beyond this quick test.